Polymorph
Overview Polymorph transforms the enemy into a sheep, pig or turtle, forcing it to wander around for a period of time. While wandering, the target cannot attack or cast spells but will regenerate very quickly. Any damage will transform the target back into its normal form. Only one target can be polymorphed at a time. Only works on Beasts, Humanoids and Critters. Polymorph will affect creeps up to the advertised duration (20 to 50 seconds depending on spell rank), but players will break out of the transformation much sooner. Functionality Use *Cast Time: 1.5 sec. *Tree, School: Arcane *Target: Enemy Beast, Humanoid, or Critter *Range: 30 Yards *Duration: Varies *Cooldown: None *Classification: Magic Variations At level 60, mages can learn two variations on the polymorph spell. They are functionally the same as Polymorph (Rank 4). *Polymorph: Pig is attainable at level 60 via a quest chain from Archmage Xylem in Azshara. *Polymorph: Turtle is learned from a Tome dropped by Gahz'ranka in Zul'Gurub. The tome does not bind on pickup and can be traded. Talents *No talents directly affect this spell. *Arcane Focus, Arcane Subtlety Notes *This spell works on those given above, and does NOT work on elementals, demons, undead, or typeless creeps. It works just fine against Forsaken players, as the game considers them humanoid. *While sheeped, the target cannot do anything, but heals at a rapid pace. Any damage caused to the target causes it to revert to its normal state. The target will also wander across the area randomly in this state. *A mage can only have one target Polymorphed at a time. If cast on a second target, the first Polymorph breaks. Sheep, Pig, and Turtle all count as a single polymorph effect for each mage, so casting Polymorph: Pig while having a different mob sheeped will break the sheep. In PvP it has the following extra limitations: *It does not work on shapeshifted druids. (However Polymorph DOES work on shamans in Ghost Wolf form.) *As of Version 1.4, druids in their caster form can shapeshift to break the spell instantly. *No matter the listed duration, players have an ever-increasing chance to break the effect each second, with 100% chance at 12 seconds. Expect the spell to last 7 seconds on average. Duration displayed on the debuff is capped at 12 seconds against players, then 6 and 3 after subsequent casts, due to diminishing returns. Rank Table Tips and Tactics *The careful use of Polymorph can be tremendously effective in combat against elites. Typically, a Mage will use Polymorph to start a combat, allowing the group to focus on the remaining targets. Because Polymorph heals the target, it is much more effective to use it early in a combat rather than later when the target may have already suffered some damage. *Wandering sheep can aggro nearby groups when it breaks near them. Using Counterspell or Fireblast to pull the target to a more favourable location before sheeping will help minimize the chances of this happening. *While you can only have one thing sheeped at a time, it is possible to keep multiple things busy by sheeping one target, switching to and sheeping another, then re-sheeping the first. If you run away a bit between casts, you can hold down 2-3 things at once with this tactic, but you will generate a lot of hate and not be able to assist your party with other targets. Use only in dire emergencies with a very good Warrior or Bear Formed Druid. *The use of this spell is sometimes called sheeping; on occasion you may hear a mage referred to as a sheeper. *If you are in a group and a mage Polymorphs something, do NOT attack it unless your group is prepared for it. *While Polymorph does regenerate the target's health quickly, it doesn't affect mana in any way. Good mages learn to use this in PvP situations. *The pig and turtle variations of the spell are functionally the same as a regular rank 4 Polymorph. However, they can be useful in fights involving multiple mages to distinguish which mage has hit which target. ---- Category:Mage Abilities Category:Arcane Spells